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Armed with the latest campaign finance numbers and straw poll results of dubious significance, the Mayoral Power Rankings return.
1. Muriel Bowser
What: Eleven months after she launched her campaign, Bowser has the largest bank account and a string of straw poll wins.
Why: Bowser’s campaign even managed to turn its starring role in an odd bit of campaign drama into good news, sort of.
Power Rankings Momentum: Precarious.
2. Vince Gray

What: Gray raised $627,061.57 in his first fundraising period, less than the $1 million his supporters once claimed they were aiming for but still enough to buy a house in cash if the campaign wanted to.
Why: Watching Gray at events, you’d think that running for re-election was some unfair burden the District’s residents had imposed on him. LL can understand getting mad about shadow campaign talk—-his rivals are all but calling him a crook when they do—-but Gray even gets steamed over his policy record. Cheer up, you’re the mayor!
Power Rankings Momentum: Stalled.
3. Andy Shallal
What: Between LL and the Post’s own version of Cribs, it was Andy Shallal Week in D.C. media. The guy has seven fireplaces in his house! Meanwhile, Shallal’s very existence continues to terrorize local conservative websites.
Why: People at the Ward 4 straw poll seemed generally intrigued by Shallal.
Power Rankings Momentum: Rising.

4. Tommy Wells
What: Wells’ marijuana decriminalization bill passed its first vote Tuesday with the decriminalizing of public pot smoking stripped out—-just in time for Wells to thwack his rivals over their vote on it!
Why: Wells got the biggest applause lines of the night at last night’s Washington Interfaith Network forum.
Power Rankings Momentum: Rising.

5. Jack Evans
What: Evans outraised everybody but Gray in the latest campaign finance reports, but all that money hasn’t bought him a news cycle. Bowser gave Evans a thwack on her home turf at the Ward 4 forum, pointing out that his much-touted transformation of 14th Street from a place to visit prostitutes into a place to visit luxe restaurants inspired by prostitutes doesn’t appeal to everyone.
Why: Evans’s chumminess with Gray at forums this week left LL wondering, as usual, why Evans is running. Maybe more Evans-friendly crowds in Wards 2 and 3 will change that.
Power Rankings Momentum: Falling.
6. Vincent Orange

What: Orange spent Tuesday’s Council session failing to attach his own amendments into other mayoral hopefuls’ legislation. Despite not being shy about LLC bundling and holding his kickoff just last month, Orange only raised $43,319 in the latest fundraising round.
Why: If Orange can’t persuade his Council colleagues to go in for some politically advantageous maneuvers against Gray, how can he convince people to vote for him?
Power Rankings Momentum: Falling.
7. Reta Jo Lewis

What: With whatever outsider energy she may have had sucked away by Shallal, Lewis spent the week cryptically telling voters that her middle name guaranteed that she would “fight” for them. Only later was it revealed that she was referring to boxer Joe Louis.
Why: Lewis lacks in both name recognition and much chance of actually winning, but she does have tweets that read like her own internal monologue.
Plus, April 1st ???? !!!’Who votes on April Fools Day ???!!! . Lots of laughter #retalewisformayor#DCision14
— Reta Jo Lewis (@RetaJoLewis) February 7, 2014
Power Rankings Momentum: Lots of laughter
Honorable Mentions: Potential future power rankings contestant David Catania, who threaded the needle between other councilmembers’ mayoral ambitions and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton‘s legacy-buidling to get his D.C. Promise program past its first Council vote.
Long, long shot Carlos Allen, for bringing a huge bus to events he’s not invited to and for starting a feud with Lewis after she forgot him on her list of outsider candidates at the Ward 4 forum.
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